Gluten-free Dairy-free Quinoa Pancakes

Just made these this morning with some leftover quinoa from yesterday's breakfast. I was intending to eat them myself and save some for tomorrow. However, the kids (ages 8 and almost 6) asked to try them and they gobbled up all of my leftovers!!! I'd say these  were a huge success!!! The original recipe came from fitsugar.com, expect it was not GF or dairy-free, so I made some changes and they were absolutely awesome. I am trying to avoid extra sugar too, so I did not put any syrup on my pancakes. The recipe made about 10, but I had 3 as my serving.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa (my cooked quinoa was made with almond milk, ginger,clove, cinnamon and nutmeg)

3/4 cup GF all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon course salt

1 large egg plus 1 large egg white

1 tablespoon Coconut Oil

1/4 cup Unsweetened almond milk

2 tablespoons pure grade B maple syrup plus more for serving (optional)

Fresh fruit for topping 

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together quinoa, flour, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg white, coconut oil, almond milk, and syrup until smooth. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and whisk to combine. (some coconut oil lumps may remain)
Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with butter and heat over medium-high. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on top, 2 minutes.
Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside, 2 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more melted butter and remaining batter (reduce heat to medium if overbrowning). Serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit or preserves if desired.

Coconut Curry Chicken

After searching around my pantry and searching the internet for a possible coconut curry chicken, I came up with a recipe that my husband proclaimed the best meal ever!
I am currently not eating gluten, dairy, or sugar...so this recipe had to fit that bill as well!...and it did! :)
Sorry I don't have a picture to post yet, but I'm sure I'll be making this again in the real near future and I'll get one then.

Ingredients *:
1 T coconut oil
1 large carrot, grated or use a peeler to make thin peels of carrot
1 medium onion, sliced in strips
1 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into matchstick sized strips
1 large garlic clove, crushed and chopped
1 pound chicken breast cutlets (basically one breast sliced in 3 thin pieces)
2 1/2 teaspoons curry
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1 can light or regular coconut milk
2 T tomato paste

Directions:
In large pan or wok, heat coconut oil on medium high and place each slice of chicken breast flat on pan, so you can slightly sear each side. (don't move the chicken around or you won't get a nice sear) Give each side 3-5 minutes, then flip. After the chicken is cooked through, juices running clear, remove from pan and set aside. Without cleaning out the pan, place carrot, onion and zucchini in hot pan. Stir them a bit and let them sit to get a little brown. They should still be tender crisp, just with a little color on them. While veggies are cooking, slice the chicken into strips, again matchstick size. Then, add chicken, garlic, curry, and garam masala. Stir to coat. Add tomato paste and stir to coat. Add can of coconut milk and mix thoroughly. The sauce will slightly thicken. Finally add salt to taste.
Either serve over quinoa or in lettuce wraps (I used butter lettuce).

*All of my ingredients are organic except for my spices, though I am trying to head in that direction.

Bacon Wrapped Pecan Stuffed Dates

These may not look too pretty, but oh my! are these some of the yummiest little treats ever!!! And they are so simple to make! A friend of ours made them for our small group, then I made them for my Easter brunch! Delicious!!! The recipe was also found from Paula Deen via foodnetwork.com! 

Ingredients:1 (8-ounce) box pitted dates30 pecan halves10 to 12 slices bacon

Directions:Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Stuff each date with a pecan half. Cut each slice of bacon into 3 pieces. Wrap 1 piece around each stuffed date, place seam side down on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until bacon is crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and serve.

Creamy Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup

I don't remember where I originally got this recipe. However, it is fabulous!!! It is such a nice refreshing soup with flavors that will impress your friends, yet it is simple to prepare! It would even make a nice appetizer for your Easter meal!

Ingredients:

·         2-3 large carrots, chopped small

·         1 onion, chopped small

·         1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

·         1 1/2 tsp curry powder

·         1 3/4 cup vegetable broth

·         1 14 ounce can coconut milk (reserve a few T to drizzle on top when serving)

·         sea salt, to taste

Directions:

Simmer the carrots, onions, ginger and curry powder in vegetable broth for 20-25 minutes, until carrots are soft.

Allow to cool slightly, and then puree in blender, working in batches if needed.

Return to heat and stir in coconut milk until well combined.

Season generously with sea salt, to taste.
Drizzle one teaspoon coconut milk on top each bowl of soup, for garnish.

Serve hot, or, chill until cold and serve as a gourmet vegetarian and vegan appetizer soup. This carrot soup will thicken as it cools, so if serving this vegan carrot soup cold, you may want to add a bit extra liquid.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

UPDATE 1/27/14: Since going gluten free, I swapped out the wheat flour in this recipe for Trader Joe's gluten free all-purpose flour.
A couple weekends ago I found this recipe at Everyday Belle, as I was looking for a healthier pancake recipe. Well, it was a HUGE hit with my kids! So, I just got done making them for the second time this morning, only I played around with the recipe a bit more today. The first time I made it I used plain, non fat/sugar free greek yogurt and surprisingly my kids still gobbled them up! Today, I had some left over orange flavored greek yogurt that none of us really cared for, so I decided to use that up in the recipe and I added 1/4 teaspoon of Spice Islands pure vanilla extract (which doesn't contain corn syrup, as many others do). I have to say (and I don't get paid in any way by the company...in fact I don't get paid for any part of doing this blog) that Spice Islands products are awesome!!! They are a bit more expensive, but worth it! A sweet friend of mine recently said that good things aren't always cheap and cheap things aren't always good. I think that is SO true! Anyhow, back to the pancakes...the batter is super thick, but they produce a very light pancake. Make sure you resist the urge to continue stirring the batter as you make the pancakes. It will fluff up a lot as it sits and that is what helps make them so great!
You can use any flavor yogurt you want, but the fact that my kids were just as happy with the sugar free version, I think I'll stick to that next time!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Thank you to Paige at Everyday Belle!

Ingredients:
6 oz (3/4 C) greek yogurt (any flavor, I used plain fat free)
1 egg
1/2 C Trader Joe's GF flour, scant...which means just a little less than 1/2 (I used to use King Arthur, unbleached/ not bromated)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (if using plain yogurt)

Direction:
Turn on the stovetop to medium heat using a griddle (or non stick pan). Spray pan thoroughly or butter if you desire. While pans are heating up, mix wet ingredients. Then, mix in flour and baking soda until well combined. Let stand for a couple minutes, until mixture is fluffed up (resist the urge to mix again). The batter will be very thick. Plop onto pan and spread gently with the back of a spoon. Flip when edges are looking a little less wet. They will not get the same bubbles that you may be used to seeing on pancakes, so you'll just have to test these. Flip an extra time, if needed, to ensure the batter is cooked in the center.
Serve immediately and Enjoy!!!